Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 80 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA – Get Rating) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,814 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in MSA Safety were worth $1,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSA. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MSA Safety by 19.5% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in MSA Safety by 37.5% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,870 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in MSA Safety by 2.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $796,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in MSA Safety by 36.1% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 24,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,192,000 after acquiring an additional 6,385 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in MSA Safety by 58.6% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares during the period. 80.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 713 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.29, for a total value of $96,461.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,361 shares in the company, valued at $454,709.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 1,949 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.28, for a total value of $261,711.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,331 shares in the company, valued at $1,252,966.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 713 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.29, for a total value of $96,461.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $454,709.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA opened at $143.63 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of -844.88 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $133.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.65. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1 year low of $108.75 and a 1 year high of $147.75.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $398.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.77 million. MSA Safety had a positive return on equity of 27.70% and a negative net margin of 0.38%. The business’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 6 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 16th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 15th. This is a positive change from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is presently -1,105.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. TheStreet lowered MSA Safety from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, May 1st.

About MSA Safety

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MSA Safety, Inc engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of innovative products, which enhance the safety and health of workers and protect facility infrastructures. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, International, and Corporate. The Americas segment includes manufacturing and research and development facilities in the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil.